Her husband was a criminal. Although, he wasn't a criminal in a malicious sense. Claude Arkenson was a man who was looking to make ends meet and support his wife and soon to be child. There were few options and after the seventh rejection of applying for a job, a friend of his introduced him to another and the rest was history.
Leah wasn't anywhere involved with these illegal conducts, her husband wouldn't have even allowed her. She was mostly a stay-at-home wife during their marriage, taking care of their child and making sure her husband could be welcomed home to a relaxing environment. But even she knew the common hotspots.
The false hero neatly tightened the neck-tie around her blemished white collar and fastened the typical black blazer. The man in front of her was knocked out cold, the cloak that smelled like rain covered his mostly naked body. At least he'll have something to wear when he wakes up in the morning.
She was in a back alleyway of a nightclub. It was past midnight, the prime time the party animals would be venturing for some fun. The establishment was fairly large for what Leah would expect from one, neon lights in the shape of a martini and the figure of a woman sitting in it.
Based on the amount of people wearing suits, this club was either really high profile or some VIP was in there. Most bodyguards were around six feet tall so it was also a convenience for her to get a change of clothes. They were also wearing this ear-piece device, probably this modern day's walkie-talkie from the confirmation she was listening in from other bodyguards.
"Point seventeen, status report."
"All clear. No sign of hostiles."
"Affirmative."
Someone important was in the building.
"Azra?" From the new clothing, the smoke tucked inside the inner layers of the blazer spoke. "Why are we here?"
"I'm looking for a peculiar man." Leah whispered, unsure if the earpiece picked her voice. Drug dealers usually inhabit these sorts of places. The small fishes and the big sharks alike. She was looking for the biggest shark she could find and perhaps negotiate a deal with the stolen gun on her waist.
Leah swiped the card on the door as she pressed the handle.
"One-sided and alive, preferably."
From outside, she could already hear the booming music playing but now that she was inside, it felt like it was reverbing from the walls itself. The cold dark environment alongside the occasional counting check-ins in her ear made her skin crawl.
The higher the numbers climbed, the more she came to know how many men were lurking around the building and the more she knew how important this person must be.
"Point thirty-two, any signs?"
"Just crack-heads and alcoholics, over."
That was the last intermission before the numbers reverted back to one. Thirty-two armed guards patrolling the club. That was far from the usual.
But by that point, Leah had reached the main room, the source of all the noise and blaring lights. She pushed through the door with the blaring strobe lights and pungent chilling air.
"It's so loud!" Euglith's voice was drowned out in the music from the DJ booth. "Is a bard casting a loud spell?!"
"If it's bad club music, then yes." Leah carefully walked along the rows of people who were chatting along the sidelines. The distorting seizure-inducing dance floor was just a level below ground level. Every moment down there, the lights flashed a different colour, it was difficult to tell who was who in that situation.
But she could spot the odd people not dancing. Armed, wearing three-piece suits and looking around the place as if they were eyeing out for a certain someone. Another interesting sight was a pathway leading deeper underground gated off from most people.
Perhaps that was the money-spot. Most of them seem to be crowding around there, rotating like flies around an open trash bin. It was in her best interest to get in there before they figured out one of their beloved co-workers was knocked out cold naked next to an actual dumpster.
Leah descended the stairs once she found it, making sure she didn't bump into people as the visibility decreased into bright flashes spanning by the blink of an eye. The fog machine just made it worse.
"Point twelve, confirm position."
Seconds pass by. No answer. Leah quickly glanced around, taking note of each one of them around the room.
"Point twelve, status report."
With more adamancy this time to confirm. Leah's pace suddenly grew, almost crashing into a group of people as she heard the next sentence ordered in her ear.
"Point twelve is unresponsive. Last known location is by the rear entrance of the establishment. All men be on high-alert, potential hostile has entered the building."
"Ten-four, high alert."
Leah could see some of them start to spread out, their hands reaching the insides of their vest. She wasn't sure how to react just yet, keeping her head low with her eyes aimed at the entryway to the underground section. If this VIP was in there, then she could theoretically just walk in with registration.
But it was just one person standing in the way in a crowded area that was full of ignorant people dancing their life away. In an environment where you couldn't even hear your voice half of the time and low-visibility. A little bit of lying could get her way in, but the 'otherwise' shouldn't be too difficult either.
"This is point fourteen. I've located point twelve naked and out cold. Most of his belongings were stolen, over."
Under the strobe lights and drunk people, Leah cursed. "That fast already?"
"Hostile is possibly wearing the same uniform and has access to this communication channel. Disconnecting point twelve's earpiece."
And soon, nothing but static silence followed. She hissed. They can do that now?! Was her thought before taking the device off her ear and tucking it into her breast pocket. She should've known that it was never going to be this simple the moment she decided to knock out a bodyguard.
Was it even worth it to go down there? She's in too deep. No getting cold feet now that she had alerted the hired security guards.
In the haze of the controlled madness, Leah moved through the crowd, pushing through each obnoxious dancer until she was right at the entrance. The man next standing in front of it stared at her, nudging her to say something.
"We've got a situation." Leah made sure not to slip on her words. "We're escorting him out of the building before it escalates."
"Yeah? And how come I've never seen your ugly-ass in the list of people hired?" He retorted, crossing his arms. Without a second thought, Leah yanked him by the collar.
"You want to start betting on odds that you haven't gone blind? Or you want to start arguing until I fucking lose my job because you won't let me through?"
Rather quickly, the guard shriveled. "Alright, alright, I was just joking. Here, go on through."
Leah released her hold before spitting at his face.
"Jackass."
As she descended the stairs, Leah finally let out the breath she was subconsciously holding in. She was sort of expecting it to be harder, but knowing how little backbone some regular security people do have because they lack experience, it was an opportunity to be taken for granted.
One final step and she had arrived at the lowest part of the establishment. Cold walls, dim luminescent blue lights and the slow ambient music playing in the background. After discovering a whole glass panel wall, she could see that this special area underneath was some sort of indoor swimming pool.
The strong smell of scented candles permeated the room.
Euglith peaked out from the corner of the blazer when the ambience suddenly changed. "Azra? What is this place? Is this an inside lake?"
Leah quietly stared at the group of men who were escorting a half-naked person still wearing a towel. They were heading out the other exit, likely another backdoor entrance to the building. Her target.
"Is that him?" The Farblight looked in the same direction once the false hero didn't respond to her question. "Are they bad guys? Do you want me to stop them?"
"No, just stay put." Leah pushed her back into her jacket before trailing the group. "I can handle this."
She walked into the open, her eyes gazing forward as she passed by people drugged in their own fantasies. Her ill-fitting shoes were barely keeping themselves dry with each echoing step, her hands were tucked inside her blazer with a grip on her firearm.
She did think of settling in peacefully once, but these people whom she chose to turn to were criminals to some degree. It was just a pipe dream to be able to settle it civilly. His bodyguards weren't just going to hand him over.
Let it be less than ten--
"Hey! You!" One of the bodyguards had stayed behind in case someone like her was following. "I don't remember anyone having to come do--"
And his body fell into one of the pools with a splash after three bullets made their home in his chest. They screamed as the blood mixed with the water they were in. Leah kept a steady grip on her pistol as she marched forward with cold hands.
--because she just killed one without a second thought.